VT250F "Silver" part 10: Rolling chassis

The original plan was to tidy up the engine and get that in the frame. But it was quickly realised that putting the motorcycle on a stand and getting it to a rolling chassis stage would make things easier for the future.

We used a spare welding stand that Dad had and then used g clamps and tensions straps to hold the frame in place. So far its working pretty good and it makes working much easier when you dont have to bend over all the time. You can buy purpose built motorcycle stands,  I dont have that kind of money so we chose to adapt something already in the shed. But its something to think about for your own project.

First step was to re attach the front forks. Unfortunantly the ball bearings scattered during strip down, luckily though we managed go find them all. As I didnt have a new set of packed bearings we ended up re using the old ones. First all the old grease was wiped away and then cleaned thoroughly. It was then a matter of placing the ball bearings gently in the new grease and sliding the front forks onto the frame. Holding the forks in place the new grease and bearings were positioned on the top so that it could then be secured. I cannot stress how careful this stage was, if the ball bearings fell and scattered on the ground  we would have been set back substantially. If you have newly packed bearings use them! 

"turns left and right with out any resistance, a very good sign of success"

The triple clamp was next. While it was in parts it was given a very quick tidy up using hot water, a small amount of detergent and a scrubbing brush (the ignition switch was removed at this point to avoid damaging it). The results are a definite improvement and it eliminated the hassle of having to repaint the part. Then after a bit of levering it into position the front was finally done.

"before"



"after"

The rear suspension parts were also given a hot soapy bath before they went back onto the frame. As its a pretty simple setup it was  matter of tightening four bolts and making sure things moved freely. The rear wheel was then re attached and thats it. The motorcycle is now a rolling chassis.

"for some strange reason I love how the newly painted frame looks against the old unpainted parts..."

While the bike is at this height I'm thinking of getting as much done as possible on the stand before the engine goes back in. But I'll see how that goes when I figure out the next move.

"looks like a motorcycle again... excellent"

Dont forget to have a look at the video when its finally uploaded by clicking here.